Cold Weather Workouts

I tried jogging in the morning for a while, but the morning is not a good time to test my endurance.  In the morning I fly on autopilot through my routine, but cold and wet weather cut through my subconscious resolve.  If I don't have something to do indoors at those times, I often get bored and go back to bed.  Then even on the days that the weather is perfect, I feel no urge to get up early.

One way to take advantage of the cold weather indoor time is to do workout videos.  The main goal of working out is not to sculpt my body, although I'm sure that will be a result eventually, but instead I am exercising my stamina.  The video I'm currently working through is Gaiam's Cardio Pilates.  The real trick to exercise videos is to start out by doing small segments at a time.  There is no way I could do this entire video all at once in the current state of flab I live in.  I'm not that out of shape; I just don't exercise my core enough.  Pilates is an excellent way to work your core muscles.  Last year I worked out on the Total Gym for a few months and only went jogging sporadically.  When I did jog, it felt far easier to endure longer distances than when I just tried to jog without regular exercise.

Primal Blueprint law #4 is to lift heavy things.  I consider myself heavy enough (at 140 pounds), at least when I lift and hold as Pilates tends to encourage.  I don't need to add external weights to my workout because all I have to do is extend the time I balance myself to increase the difficulty.  Chronic cardio is a big no-no in the Primal Blueprint, but I do around 5 to 10 minutes of the Pilates video at a time.  Even though the video is Cardio Pilates, it's still just strength training for me.

One of my goals for 2012 is to run a 10k.  Fortunately, the Little Rock Marathon has replaced their relay race with a 10k.  There are lots of 5ks and half-marathons in Arkansas, but not many races are 10k.  I like the idea of stepping up in my endurance challenges.  I have run a few 5k races, and it is challenging.  But without the idea of a reachable next step, it's difficult for my mind to find the motivation to either continue 5k running or train up for the half-marathon.  I realize this is a mental crutch, but I'm trying to grow at a sustainable pace.  I could probably make it through a half-marathon at this point, but I would rather go into such a race having the experience of making it to the halfway point alive.  The marathon is in March, so I am making the most of my winter time with core training.